Advice and information for housing landlords in Sandwell

Waste and fly-tipping

If you want to look after your property values and make your properties more attractive to potential tenants, you can do a lot by taking some basic steps about protecting the appearance of your property and its immediate environment. We have a guest post from Margaret Gardiner, one of our Group Environmental Health officers with some useful points to follow.

Fly-tipping or the dumping of bulky unwanted items or rubbish is illegal. The mess it creates helps depress property values and rents and make re-letting properties more difficult by dragging down a neighbourhood. Fly-tipping tends to happen more in areas where there is a high turnover of tenants. The process of moving home often creates waste, as people decide to dump that broken sofa or unwanted mattress or just that extra black sack of rubbish that won’t squeeze into the bin. Landlords can help themselves and us by making sure their tenants use Sandwell’s waste collection services. In particular they can:

Encourage tenants to use the Council’s bulky waste collection service. They can book this by calling 0845 359 7501. They will have to pay for the collection in advance. Tenants can also take bulky waste to the household recycling centre in Oldbury.

When the property is re-let please make sure that everything discarded by the previous tenant is removed. Ensure tenants are made aware of the collection arrangements for their property before they move in. Follow the link below for more details of the Sandwell’s waste services.

Make sure tenants are aware of their collection day and where to put their bins to be emptied. All waste should be contained in the bin and the lid closed. Inform tenants that if they do not receive a waste collection that they should call the council on 0845 359 7501.

Encourage tenants to take their bins back onto the property as soon as they are emptied. Leaving the bins on the street makes the area untidy, obstructs pedestrians and causes a hazard to people with disabilities.

Please ensure that any lost or stolen bin is replaced to avoid black bags left out on the pavement and rear access way of properties. These bags are liable to be ripped open by animals and attract rodents. For bin replacements contact 0845 359 7501, but please note that there is a charge.

Do not allow tenants to accumulate waste on the property. We will serve notice on landlords to remove any rubbish likely to attract and harbour rodents.

Please phone 0845 359 7501 if you need assistance with a waste collection problem at your tenanted property. An officer will call you back to discuss it further.

You can get more information about Sandwell’s domestic bin collections at: